Speaking publicly for the first time since re-signing with the Golden State Warriors on a new two-year contract, head coach Steve Kerr has vowed to fix a major problem when it comes to the development of the team's recent lottery picks.
The Warriors will head to next month's draft with a lottery pick for the first time since 2021, but fans will surely have some doubt on whether Kerr will fully commit to that young player early on after recent experiences with Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody and James Wiseman.
Warriors fans won't buy Steve Kerr's promise until they see it
Golden State will head to the draft with the 11th overall pick following last Sunday's lottery, making for the third-highest selection, and only the fourth lottery pick the franchise will have taken since Kerr became coach in 2014.
Kerr stated "that guy has to play" in reference to the 11th pick on Friday, acknowledging the long-term injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody, along with the need to have younger legs in an older, veteran rotation that succumbed to a spate of injuries in the final months of this season.
The 4x championship-winning coach certainly said the right things that fans will want to hear when it comes to embracing the incoming 11th pick, but words are just that until they're backed up by action on the court next season.
Kerr might be aided by the fact this is considered a strong draft, particularly in the lottery, yet the same could have been said about the 2021 draft where the Warriors wound up with Kuminga (seventh) and Moody (14th).
Steve Kerr's treatment of recent lottery picks has been criticized
If there's one aspect Kerr has been criticized for more than any other in the past few years, it's the treatment and mismanagement of some young players, most notably Kuminga whose role in the rotation and relationship with the head coach was a constant talking point.
Kuminga started the first 12 games of this season and showed some exciting signs, only to lose that role, suffer a minor injury, and be out of the rotation entirely shortly after. That period summed up the young forward's career at the Warriors, leaving the franchise to trade him to the Atlanta Hawks at February's mid-season deadline.
In Kerr's defense, the front office didn't make it easy on him. Having no less than five first-to-third year players on the roster the year after winning a championship is rather insane, and not a position any head coach would expect to find themselves.
Kerr now sees that the Warriors aren't as close to championship contention as they were a few years ago, and that to get back there may require the infusion of talented youth. Whether that can transform into meaningful action might be the biggest watch on the team entering next season.
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